Apparatus for producing hollow rubber articles



May 3, 1949. D. c. KEMPTHORN 2,468,760

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING HOLLOWIRUIBBER ARTICLES Original Filed MaICh 3l, 1944 v 2 Sheets-Sheet l 7711/1/11), i ses VV w Mmmmx May 3, 1949. D. c. KEMPTHORN 2,468,760

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING HOLLOW RUBBER ARTICLES Original Filed Mroh 31, 1944 2 Sheets-Shet 2 l :WEA/mx David C. Kemphosfn BY mm Patented May 3, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FR PRODUENG HOLLOW RUBBER ARTICLES David C. Kempthorn, Akron, Ohio, assigner to The Sun Rubber Company, Barberton, Ohio, a

corporation of Ghio Serial No. 631,368

3 Claims.

This invention relates to hollow rubber or like articles, such as hollow rubber character dolls, and to apparatus and method for producing the same.

In the past hollow rubber articles of the character described have been produced by various so-called blowing methods by which usually a preformed hollow biscuit was placed in a sectional vulcanizing mold and subjected to internal pressure to expand the wall of the biscuit against the surface of the mold cavity. The difliculty, however, has been that this internal pressure forced the rubber between the parting surfaces of the mold sections to produce a flash or rind of excess rubber, which was required to be removed by separate trimming or buing operations.

Furthermore, dolls manufactured by such methods have usually been provided with separate noise-making devices secured in apertures formed in the articles in various ways. For the most part such noise makers have been unsatisfactory because they frequently became loose and were swallowed by children, sometimes with serious consequences.

One object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for vulcanizing hollow rubber or like articles, without substantial ash or rind along the parting line thereof caused by rubber flowing between the parting surfaces of the usual sectional molds.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved hollow rubber article with a wind operated noise-maker or squawker integrally formed in the wall thereof by vulcanization of the article, and improved apparatus for forming the noise-making device to have substantially uniform noise-making propensities.

These and other objects of the invention will be manifest from the following brief description and the accompanying drawings.

This application is a division of Patent No. 2,346,634, filed July 15, 1942, and application Serial No. 528,880, filed March 3l, 1944, Patent No. 2,405,149.

Of the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view of a vulcanizing press, partly broken away, illustrating a cross-section through a rubber doll mold, prior to a vulcanizing cycle.

Figure 2 is a, similar cross-section through a doll mold, but after vulcanization.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary crosssection at the parting line between the mold sections.

Figure 4 is a side elevation of a hollow rubber character doll, manufactured in accordance with the invention, partly broken away and in section'through the integral noise-makingA device. Referring particularly to Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, the numerals I0 and H designate upper and lower platens of a vulcanizing press of known type in which the platens are relatively movable toward and from each other. Mounted on the platens I9 and l i are upper and lower mold sections i2, l2 and i3, i3, respectively, of a plurality of cavity molds l, i4, the mold sections being adapted to register for vuicanizing articles in the molds when the press is closed. The contour of the parting surface of molds I4 conform generally to the outline of the articles produced therein, and the normal clearance between said surfaces is utilized for venting the mold cavities, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

Secured in a recess l5 in the lower mold section Il of each mold lll is a plug I5 having its inner surface substantially flush with the inner surface of the mold cavity, and projecting inwardly of the plug may be a pin or core I1 formed with an ovate or annular enlargement I8, in spaced relation to said inner surface of the cavity to provide a relatively short constricted neck portion E9. A relatively thin, annular enlargement il@ may be provided on the pins in inwardly spaced relation to ovate portion I9 to provide an annular recess 2l of suitable depth, for purposes subsequently to be described. An inner end portion 22 of the pin Il is tapered inwardly to a point for piercing articles formed in the mold in a manner which will also be described later.

Extending through the plug I'6 and pin I1 is a passage 23 which communicates, through apertures 23a, 232- at the inner end of the pin, with the interior of the mold i4, the outer end of the plug l5 being threaded into a conduit 24 connected with a suitable source of supply (not shown) from which pressure fluid, such as steam, compressed air, hot water, etc., may be supplied to the interior of the mold cavity through said passage 23 to form an article in the mold under the infiuence of vulcanizing heat. The same connections may be similarly utilized to apply suction within the mold, or within an article in the mold to vent the same. The other molds in the press are similarly connected to the supply conduit 24. g In the operation of the apparatus, while the press is open hollow biscuits or casings B, roughly preformed from sheets of unvulcanized rubber in a known manner, are placed in the cavities of the lower mold sections, whereby the pin being hot from previous vulcanizing operations will pierce the lower wall portions of the biscuit and said wall portions will drape around the pin I l including the enlarged portions I8 and 2U thereof, substantially as illustrated in the lower part of Figure l. The length of pin l1 is such that the draped portions of the walls of the biscuits will not close the apertures 23a from the passages 23. Upon placing the biscuits in the lower mold sections the press is operated to move the uppervr and. lower .mold sections into closedV registering relation (see Figure 1).

In this closed position of the press, while the molds are maintained at vulcanizing temperature by suitable means (not shown), pressure fluid is supplied from the source of supply through conduit 23 to expand the walls of biscuits B against the surfaces of the mold cavities and thereby form the articles, as illustrated in Figure 2. It has been the practice in the past to apply substantially full vulcanizing pressure to the interior of the biscuit upon closing thepress, whereby the heat of the mold caused the rubber to soften immediately and flow under the internal pressure into the spaces between the parting surfaces of the ymold-sections, thereby forming considerable excess rubber known as flash or rind which was required yto be removed by a separate trimming or bufling operation after vulcanization. In accordance with the present invention the initial pressure supplied to the interior of the biscuits may be relativelylow, say approximately ten pounds per square inch, whereby the walls of the biscuits B are expanded against the mold cavities with insufcient pressure to force the rubber between the parting surfacesof the mold sections to a material degree, this low pressure being maintained a suicient length of time, as for example about 11/2 minutes, according to temperature conditions, to permit the heated molds .to form a skin coat on the articles being formed from the biscuits, after which full vulcanizing pressure may be supplied through conduit 24 for the completion of the curing cycle. The skin coating or hardened outer surfaces formed on the articles, particularly along the parting lines thereof, will prevent substantial penetration of the rubber between the parting surfaces of the mold sections when full pressure is applied, thereby obviating the usual necessity of trimming excess or flash rubber at the parting line of the completed .articles, and substantially reducing the labor usually required to remove such excess.

Application ofvulcanizingpressure within each biscuit B together with the heat of vulcanization, to form an article, as described above, will cause rubber of the wall of the biscuit to flow about the pin I l, substantially as shown in Figure 2, thereby forming. ainoise-making device integral with the wall of the finished article (see Figure 4). A chamber 25 is provided in the device by the enlargement |8 of .pin I1, and` spaced outer and inner, centrally apertured, walls or diaphragms 26 and 21 of the chamber are provided by rubber forming around the constricted portion I9 and the reduced portion or annular groove 2 I, respectively. A certain amount of excess rubber may flow inwardly over theannular enlargement 2l) to form a second chamber, but even though there should not be sufcient rubber to form a uniformly shaped inner portion'of the device, the arrangement may besuch that there will always be sulcient rubber to form the inner diaphragm 2,1 in a uniform manner, whereby the noise-Inaking propensities of articles produced as described in ithe molds |14 4will be substantially uniform. When the vulcanizing cycle is completed fluid pressure to the interior of the articles formed in the molds may be cut oif and suction applied, through conduit 24 and the passage 23, to vent the article, thereby to permit the vulcanizing press to beropened immediately at theend of the curing cycle for .removal .of the articles.

-.An.arti'cle,.pro ducedas .described aboveisshown in Figure f4. Depressingia portion 'of this article and then releasing the same will cause a rush of air through chamber 25, thereby creating a squawking or whistling sound.

Modications of the invention may be resorted t0 without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l, Apparatus for manufacturing hollow rubber articles of the character described with integral noise-making devices therein, comprising a sectional cavity mold, a pin projecting inwardly of the surface of the mold cavity, said pin having thereon a rst enlargement in spaced relation to the surface of the mold cavity and a second enlargement in inwardly spaced relation to said first enlargement, and means for applying internal pressure in a casing of unvulcanized rubber received in the mold cavity to form an article therein under heat of vulcanization, said pin being adapted to pierce the wall of the casing, whereby rubber of said wall under vulcanizing pressure and heat will flow about said enlargements into the space between the first and second enlargements and into the space between said rst enlargement and the mold cavity surface to form a chamber having spaced apertured walls.

2. Apparatus for manufacturing hollow rubber` articles of the character described with integral noiseemalring devices therein, comprising a sectional cavity mold, a pin projecting freely inwardly of the surface of the mold cavity, said pin having thereon a rst enlargement in spaced relation to the surface of the mold cavity and -a second enlargement in inwardly spaced relation to said firstvenlargement, said pin having a passage therethrough communioating with the mold cavity at a point adapted to be within a preformed casing of unvulcanized rubber received in said cavity, said pin being adapted -to pierce the wall of the Vpreformed casing, and meansfor supplying pressure fluid through said Apassageto the interior of a casing received in the mold cavity to form an article therein under heat of vulcanization, whereby rubber of the casing wall under vulcanizing pressure and heat will lflow around said pin and enlargements thereof 4and including the space between said enlargements and the space between said rstenlargement and the mold cavity surface, thereby to lform a-double chamber defined by inner, outer and intermediate apertured walls.

3. Apparatus for manufacturing a noise-.making article of the character described, 4compris-- ing a sectional cavity mold, a pin projectinginwardly of the surface of the mold cavity, said pin having thereon an enlargement inv spaced relation to the surface of the mold cavity and a second enlarged portion in spaced relation "to the first-mentioned enlarged portion, meansy vfor applying pressure to unvulcanized rubber-or like vulcanizable stock received in the mold cavity under heatv of vulcanization, thereby to form ythe stock about said pin and said spaced enlargements thereof.

DAVID C. -KEMPIHQRN REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le'of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

